Streaking Sebring Runs Down 'Dogs

The clock was winding down on possibly her final home game in a Sebring uniform and Maxime Copley gave into her teammates, draining a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put an exclamation point on senior night in front of the home fans.

"My teammates were telling me to shoot it so I took their advice," said Copley, who led all scorers with 12 points. "I wanted to go out on a high note and I couldn't have planned it any better."

The Streaks put on a clinic Thursday night, as they dominated every phase of the game in a 62-13 victory over Frostproof.

Sebring head coach Mike Lee was pleased with his team's performance, as the Streaks put together their first two-game winning streak of the season.

"We've been in so many close and tight games this season that it's nice to get a lead early and not have to be full on for the whole night," said Lee. "The seniors had a chance to end on a win, which is always nice.

"Does this help us going into the upcoming district tournament? I think it does from the standpoint that we're able to build up some confidence, which is just as important as wins this time of the year."

The Streaks game plan was simple - attack on the inside early and often - and they did it to perfection, as Sebring streaked out to a 26-3 first quarter lead and never looked back.

Sebring's inside presence was evident in that opening stanza with 18 of 26 points running through the inside from center Hannah Shoop, Copley and forward Shannon Williams. Shoop and Williams each finished with nine points on the night.

The only basket for Frostproof in the first quarter came on a 3-pointer by Kladyas Howell, who finished with a team-high six points for the Bulldogs. The Streaks kept up the defensive pressure in the second and finished the half on a 13-1 run to lead by 23 at the half that led to a running clock in the second half.

Lee rested most of his starters in the second half to save them for their final regular season game on the road against Land 'O Lakes, which was scheduled for Friday.

"Our game against Land 'O Lakes will really help get us in the proper mindset going into the district tournament," said Lee. "I saw a lot of good things from the girls tonight.

"They're looking for the extra pass and finding not only the open player but also the really open player. Our shooting percentage was up because of that."

Sixth-seeded Sebring faces No. 3 seed Braden River in the opening round of the Class 4A-District 10 tournament on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. in Avon Park.

The Streaks put up a fight last week against the Pirates, cutting a 13-point lead down to just six in the fourth quarter, but Sebring went scoreless for the final three-plus minutes in a 61-48 loss to the Pirates.

Braden River's scoring tandem of Heather Mirabella and Caitlyn Benedetto were deadly from beyond the arc, scoring 16 and 19 points, respectively, and Mirabella hit four 3-pointers in the game.

Shoop says that the key to victory against the Pirates will have to begin with slowing down or stopping the long-range barrage from the Braden River scoring duo.

"We're putting together some new game plans to try and make it harder for them to score," Shoop said. "I'm confident that we'll be there in the end."

Copley agreed with Shoop and offered her thoughts on the task of stopping the Pirates.

"All I can say is that they have to game plan for us just like we have to for them," Copley said. "It's tough to beat a team three times in a row."